Strap-based variable modular cushioning material for use by tying

ABSTRACT

A strap-based variable modular cushioning material for being tied on an object includes at least one strap and at least one block. The strap is formed with a plurality of through holes and can be wound around the object. The block is mad of elastic material, has at least one side concavely formed with a groove, and can deform and be inserted into at least one of the through holes of the strap to couple the block with the strap. When the block and the strap are coupled together, the inner wall of the through hole corresponds to the groove in position, and a top portion and a bottom portion of the block are exposed from the strap. When the strap is coupled with a plurality of blocks, each two adjacent blocks are separate from each other by a distance.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This non-provisional application claims priority to and the benefit of, under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a), Taiwan Patent Application No. 110144286, filed Nov. 26, 2021 in Taiwan. The entire content of the above identified application is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a cushioning material, and more particularly to a strap-based variable modular cushioning material for use by tying, which can be tied on an object.

BACKGROUND

To prevent damage by collision during transportation, it is generally required that fragile items, valuable objects, and delicate equipment be wrapped in a cushioning material for protection, and the type of the cushioning material (e.g., expandable polystyrene (EPS), bubble wrap, foam, or a paper-based cushioning material) hinges on the size and/or value of the products to be transported.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a conventional cushioning material A made of expandable polyethylene (EPE) foam includes a main body B and a plurality of modular blocks D. The main body B is penetrated by a receiving groove C that opens on two opposite lateral sides of the main body B. The modular blocks D are formed by cutting EPE foam with their respective cutting molds and are attached (or adhesively bonded) to one of the two opposite lateral sides of the main body B by a heat application process (or by a hot-melt adhesive) with the assistance of jigs in order to form the conventional protective cushioning material A. A product E can have two opposite sides thereof (e.g., the left and right sides or the top and bottom sides) inserted into the receiving grooves C of, and thus be covered by, two cushioning materials A respectively.

The manufacturing process of the conventional cushioning material described above has suffered from the following issues. First, a plurality of cutting molds and jigs are required. The molds and jigs have low shareability and therefore high development costs. Second, the attaching/adhesive bonding process is complicated and results in a high man-hour cost and high defective rate. Third, the completed cushioning packaging material A (with the modular blocks D attached/adhesively bonded thereto) has a large volume, which incurs a high transportation cost and requires a large storage space. Fourth, if the modular blocks D are attached to the main body B of the cushioning material A by a heat application process, in which the surface portion of the foam material is heated before the modular blocks D are attached, and in which the thickness of the EPE foam will be reduced to an extent depending on such factors such as the magnitude of the attaching force and the heating time, the cushioning material manufacturer must prepare thicker EPE foam than required in the material specifications in order to compensate for the material loss, and this will increase the manufacturer's material cost and consequently the user's expense for packaging materials.

Furthermore, as the products to be packaged vary in size, shape, and external modules (i.e., the exposed parts), it is required that different cushioning materials be designed and custom-made for different products. Custom-made cushioning materials, however, are costly because they have low shareability, require relatively expensive manufacturing processes for dealing with variations in shape and the difficulties of heating-based attachment/adhesive bonding, incur considerable expense for the custom-made cutting molds, and have a high defective rate in terms of the attachment/adhesive bonding of modular blocks.

SUMMARY

In response to the issues of the conventional cushioning materials, including high costs and material loss, the present disclosure provides a strap-based variable modular cushioning material for use by tying as a result of extensive research and experiment, so as to address the conventional technical issues and provide better use experience to users.

One aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a strap-based variable modular cushioning material for being tied on an object. The modular cushioning material includes at least one strap and at least one block. The at least one strap is formed with a plurality of through holes and can be wound around the object. The at least one block is made of elastic material, has at least one side concavely formed with a groove, and can deform and be inserted into at least one of the through holes of the strap to couple the block with the strap. The inner wall of the through hole corresponds to the groove in position, and a top portion and a bottom portion of the block are exposed from the strap when the block and the strap are coupled together.

In certain embodiments, the strap is coupled with a plurality of blocks, and each two adjacent blocks are separate from each other by a distance.

In certain embodiments, an area of a top surface of the block is greater than a cross-sectional area of each of the through holes.

In certain embodiments, a cross-sectional shape of each of the through holes is X-shaped.

In certain embodiments, a cross-sectional shape of each of the through holes is formed by two intersecting slots, and an angle between the two slots is greater than 0 degree.

In certain embodiments, each of the through holes has a circular shape.

In certain embodiments, each of the front side and rear side of the block is concavely formed with a groove.

In certain embodiments, the groove is annularly and concavely formed on a periphery of the block.

In certain embodiments, a middle portion of the block is columnar.

In certain embodiments, the block is made of expandable polyethylene or ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer.

In certain embodiments, the strap is made of expandable polyethylene, a low-density polyethylene film, high-density polyethylene, or nylon.

These and other aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of the embodiment taken in conjunction with the following drawings and their captions, although variations and modifications therein may be affected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a conventional foaming material and a product.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a modular cushioning material according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a modular cushioning material according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a modular cushioning material according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a modular cushioning material according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a modular cushioning material according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a modular cushioning material according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is more particularly described in the following examples that are intended as illustrative only since numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Like numbers in the drawings indicate like components throughout the views. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural reference, and the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on”. Titles or subtitles can be used herein for the convenience of a reader, which shall have no influence on the scope of the present disclosure.

The accompanying drawings are schematic and may not have been drawn to scale. The terms used herein generally have their ordinary meanings in the art. In the case of conflict, the present document, including any definitions given herein, will prevail. The same thing can be expressed in more than one way. Alternative language and synonyms can be used for any term(s) discussed herein, and no special significance is to be placed upon whether a term is elaborated or discussed herein. A recital of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examples anywhere in this specification including examples of any terms is illustrative only, and in no way limits the scope and meaning of the present disclosure or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the present disclosure is not limited to various embodiments given herein. Numbering ter us such as “first”, “second” or “third” can be used to describe various components, materials, objects, or the like, which are for distinguishing one component/material/object from another one only, and are not intended to, nor should be construed to impose any substantive limitations on the components, materials, objects, or the like. Directional terms (e.g., “front”, “rear”, “left”, “right”, “upper/top” and/or “lower/bottom”) are explanatory only and are not intended to be restrictive of the scope of the present disclosure.

The present disclosure relates to a strap-based variable modular cushioning material for use by tying. Referring to FIG. 2 , a modular cushioning material 1 includes at least one block 2 and at least one strap 3. To facilitate description of the relative positions of the various elements, the front side of each element is defined as facing the lower left corner of FIG. 2 , the rear side as facing the upper right corner of FIG. 2 , the left side as facing the upper left corner of FIG. 2 , the right side as facing the lower right corner of FIG. 2 , an upper side (e.g., the top side) as facing the top edge of FIG. 2 , and a lower side (e.g., the bottom side) as facing the bottom edge of FIG. 2 . The configuration of the modular cushioning material according to the present disclosure is not limited to that shown in FIGS. 2-5 , and a manufacturer may adjust the configuration of any element of the modular cushioning material 1. As long as such a modular cushioning material has the basis structure and functions of the modular cushioning materials disclosed in the present disclosure, it falls within the definition of the modular cushioning material 1 according to the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2 , in certain embodiments, the block 2 may be made of expandable polyethylene (EPE), ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), or other elastic materials. Each of the front and rear sides of the block 2 is concavely formed with a groove 20 such that the block 2 has a recumbent II shape in side view. To facilitate description of the configuration of the block 2 in certain embodiments in greater detail, the block 2 can be divided into a top portion 21, a bottom portion 22, and a middle portion 23. Both the top portion 21 and the bottom portion 22 may be rectangular cuboids (i.e., the front surface of the top portion 21 and the front surface of the bottom portion 22 may each be rectangular). The middle portion 23 is located between the top portion 21 and the bottom portion 22, and the front-to-rear length of the middle portion 23 is less than the front-to-rear length of the top portion 21 and the front-to-rear length of the bottom portion 22 such that the grooves 20 are formed on the front and rear sides of the middle portion 23 respectively.

With continued reference to FIG. 2 , the strap 3 may be made of expandable polyethylene (EPE), a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) film, high-density polyethylene (HDPE), nylon, or other elastic materials. The strap 3 is formed with a plurality of through holes 30. In certain embodiments, the cross-sectional shape of each through hole 30 in top view may be, but is not limited to, a cross shape or X shape. It is worth mentioning that each cross-shaped or X-shaped through hole 30 is formed by two intersecting slots, and that the angle between the two slots may be any angle greater than 0 degree. To couple the block 2 and the strap 3 together, the bottom portion 22 of the block 2 is deformed and inserted into one of the through holes 30 of the strap 3 until the inner wall of that through hole 30 of the strap 3 is in the grooves 20 of the block 2, with the top portion 21 and the bottom portion 22 of the block 2 exposed to view. The distance between the at least two lateral sides of the middle portion 23 is greater than the distance between the corresponding two inner wall portions of the through hole 30 so that the block 2 can be securely positioned in the strap 3 through an interference fit between the middle portion 23 of the block 2 and the through hole 30. Moreover, the area of the top surface of the block 2 in certain embodiments is greater than the cross-sectional area of each through hole 30 so that the block 2 will not separate from the strap 3 easily once coupled thereto.

The configuration of the block 2 in the present disclosure is not limited to that described supra. In certain embodiments, the periphery of the block 2 can be concavely formed with a single annular groove 20, and the middle portion 23 of the block 2 can be cylindrical, columnar, etc. When the middle portion 23 of the block 2 is columnar, the middle portion 23 may be a column whose cross section has an arbitrary number of sides or an arbitrary shape, as long as the area of the top surface of the block 2 is greater than the cross-sectional area of the middle portion 23 of the block 2, i.e., with the front-to-rear length and left-to-right length of the middle portion 23 being less than the front-to-rear length and left-to-right length of each of the top portion 21 and the bottom portion 22. Furthermore, in certain embodiments, each through hole 30 may have a circular shape in order to match the middle portion 23 of the block 2. A manufacturer, therefore, may adjust the shape of the middle portion 23 of the block 2 and the shape of each through hole 30 according to practical needs, as long as the block 2 and the strap 3 can be coupled together.

Referring to FIG. 3 , in certain embodiments, the modular cushioning material 1 includes a plurality of blocks 2 and a strap 3. In certain embodiments, the number of the plurality of blocks 2 is three. Once the blocks 2 are coupled to the strap 3, each two adjacent blocks 2 are spaced apart by a predetermined distance, and no connection exists between each two adjacent blocks 2. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In certain embodiments, referring to FIG. 4 , a connecting portion 24 is provided between each two adjacent ones of a plurality of blocks 2 so that a worker can take the blocks 2 at once, and couple the blocks 2 to the strap 3 with ease.

In certain embodiments, referring to FIG. 5 , the modular cushioning material 1 includes a block 2 and a plurality of straps 3, and each strap 3 is formed with a plurality of through holes 30. In certain embodiments, the number of the plurality of straps 3 is two. The straps 3 can be overlapped with each other, and at least one through hole 30 of one strap 3 corresponds to at least one through hole 30 of the other strap 3 in position. A portion (e.g., the bottom portion 22) of the block 2 is then deformed and inserted into the corresponding through holes 30 such that the grooves 20 of the block are located in the corresponding through holes 30 of the two straps 3 at the same time. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In certain embodiments, referring to FIG. 6 , a single strap 3 can be wound around an object (not shown) to form a loop, thereby forming and surrounding a receiving space 31 in which the object is located. A portion of the block 2 can be inserted into the corresponding through holes 30 of the same strap 3 to lock the loop in place and fix the length of the loop without using an additional fastening element. Accordingly, the length of the modular cushioning material 1 can be extended, as the length of the loop formed may be varied by the insertion of the block 2 in the strap 3.

Referring to FIG. 7 , in certain embodiments, the modular cushioning material 1 includes a plurality of blocks 2 and a plurality of straps 3 and can be wound around a product 4. Each strap 3 is formed with a plurality of through holes 30. In certain embodiments, the straps 3 can overlap one another in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, and at least one through hole 30 of each strap 3 corresponds to at least one through hole 30 of at least another one corresponding strap 3. A portion of each of the blocks 2 (e.g., the bottom portions 22 thereof) can be deformed and inserted into the different sets of corresponding through holes 30 respectively. Then, the product 4 can be placed on a central portion of the modular cushioning material 1, and the straps 3 are respectively looped, with a block 2 inserted through the through holes 30 at the two opposite ends of each strap 3, thereby tying the modular cushioning material 1 around the product 4. The bottom/top sides of the blocks 2 on the top/bottom sides of the product 4 and the right/left sides of the blocks 2 on the left/right sides of the products 4 will abut against the surface of the product 4 to provide cushioning protection for the product 4.

It can be known from the above that the modular cushioning material 1 according to the present disclosure can be tied around appropriate portions of the product 4 according to the exterior design of product 4. For example, when the product 4 is mounted with exposed parts on the surface, the modular cushioning material 1, while being tied around the product 4, can cover those exposed parts and avoid them from exposing at positions prone to collision. Accordingly, the modular cushioning material 1 can meet the need for cushioning protection of most products 4 on the market; can greatly enhance the shareability of the packaging materials required for products in a small quantity but a great variety, for sample machines that are used only for a short time for testing purposes, and for goods transported for return material authorization (RMA); and can reduce manufacturers' cost for developing molds for cushioning materials and reduce the cost of packaging for business users and/or consumer users.

The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.

The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the disclosure and their practical application so as to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the disclosure and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from its spirit and scope. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A strap-based variable modular cushioning material for being tied on an object, comprising: at least one strap formed with a plurality of through holes and configured to be wound around the object; and at least one block made of elastic material, having at least one side concavely formed with a groove, and configured to deform and be inserted into at least one of the through holes of the strap to couple the block with the strap, wherein an inner wall of the through hole corresponds to the groove in position and a top portion and a bottom portion of the block are exposed from the strap when the block and the strap are coupled together.
 2. The modular cushioning material according to claim 1, wherein the strap is coupled with a plurality of blocks, and each two adjacent blocks are separate from each other by a distance.
 3. The modular cushioning material according to claim 1, wherein an area of a top surface of the block is greater than a cross-sectional area of each of the through holes.
 4. The modular cushioning material according to claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional shape of each of the through holes is X-shaped.
 5. The modular cushioning material according to claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional shape of each of the through holes is formed by two intersecting slots, and an angle between the two slots is greater than 0 degree.
 6. The modular cushioning material according to claim 1, wherein each of the through holes has a circular shape.
 7. The modular cushioning material according to claim 1, wherein each of a front side and a rear side of the block is concavely formed with a groove.
 8. The modular cushioning material according to claim 1, wherein the groove is annularly and concavely formed on a periphery of the block.
 9. The modular cushioning material according to claim 1, wherein a middle portion of the block is columnar.
 10. The modular cushioning material according to claim 1, wherein the block is made of expandable polyethylene or ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer.
 11. The modular cushioning material according to claim 1, wherein the strap is made of expandable polyethylene, a low-density polyethylene film, high-density polyethylene or nylon. 